San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-01-19
TRAVELLERS NOTES.
Visits TO Some of the Big Offices and
Buildings, Tells What he
Saw Etc
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, Jan. 10, 1887.


To the SAN ANTONIO LIGHT:
Well Mr.. Editor:-When last wrote
you spoke OF the cable cars. This time
| will tell you q little about the car
stables.
The cable runs over pulleys under the
ground and 1t Ia one continuous cable.
Coming into the building the cable runs
over two large wheels, these wheels are
groved and the cable wraps around
these wheels four times, where II it went
around but once 1t would slip and slide,
and soon wear out the cable. The wheels
are about 20 feet apart and | judge they
weigh about 40 tons apiece, not being
able to find out the exact weight. By n
weight attached to a small moving
wagon which Is on track. and with a
wheel on same round which the cable
runs, the cable is continually kept
| tight, the wagon moving back or for
| ward two OF three feet according to the
grips on the cable, sometimes 1t moves
| but two or three inches. They use two
large engines to keep the cable going all
| the time. There Is q big can OF tar
which lie directly over the cable ard a
| on the cable as IL passes into the build
Ing which keeps 1t CREASED all the time.
This is much cheaper than horses and
they charge the same as t er lines.
There is much ak that the other street
car lines will abandon horses and have
cable lines all over the city.
They expect to have this done In about
three months. Every car has stove In
IL, SO IN the coolest weather you have
comfort, which IL quite an item to peo-
DIE who ride on street cars as they do
| in st. Louis. Some times strand OF the
cable will break. which causes delay
Of an hour TO two hours, according TO
the damage. or course everybody In The
cars bless the road. MS they have 70 walk
two. three. or five blocks in order to get
to some other street car lire.
suppose some Of your readers would
like 10 hear about the Equitable Safe
Deposit company, which Is In the Equit'
able Life insurance building. This 10
the second largest safe deposit in the
world, the largest being In the produce
exchange building 10 New York. The
company have the basement and cellar
covering the same space the building
does. On approaching the first gate
| There are two) which leads to where
the lock boxes are, you are struck with
| the work on the gate; II Is very fine, and
| the pattern was taken from piece OF
old venetian lace. The gate is opened
| BY an emDloye In uniform; the second
door leading TO the vault, and which Ia
| the door OF same, has four time locks,
| two of which the president opens, and
two by the superintendent. Here also
| stands an emplOye to open the door
Of same. Standing in the vault.
this door weigs tons and when closed
there Is not enough space for even
piece Of tissue paper TO tit in. The time
locks have two clocks, each in case, If
one should be damaged the other would
work indie pendent of the other just the
same. You would think il is part of
the building, but 1t is not, it stands en-
tirely alone, and on it's own foundation
with space of three feet between the
walls and the vault. The vault Is OF
steel and iron and 40 ton of fire PROBING;
the walls ceiling sides and floor are nine
inches thick. The smallest box is
% inches BY ~ inches by 81 inches,
and costs $40 year The largest is
three feet, p inches by % inches. by %
inches, and COSTS $3.50 year.
A person getting Il box costing $50,
can have a combination lock on their
box If they want 1t and the larger ones
the same. The boxes are all OF steel.
At present they have 1000 boxes and Ca
pacity for 5000 more if it becomes nee.
essary.
You can register your name in book
there you want TO and yours truly did
Ii with big flourish.
The vault being air tight, except when
the doors are open. and as this does not
give a circulation of air, they have two
air holes. These are pieces that have
flanges that fit In the ceiling and are so
suspended that they can be raised and
lowered into place with ease. These
pieces are connected with the doors
(there are two to the VAULT so that in
case of fOrgetfulness on the part of the
employees to close the air holes, they
could not close the doors, and at once
they know the air holes have been left
open. The gas jets are all lit by cleo
tricity.
Above the vault are steam pipes
which can be turned on by touching
button. This is in case u mob should
take possession Of the top of the vault
they would be steamed OUT.
Passing from the vault through an
other door, having combination locks,
etc, same as the other door before des
cribed, (these two are all the doors to
the vault) you see long row of little
rooms about three feet wide and eight
feet deep, with pen and ink and stool;
these are for depositors, where they can
take their papers, bonds, etc. whatever
Ii may be, and examine same in private.
Each room has an electric be 10 call ser
want to anything you uay wish. Should
there he 800 or 400 people, OF more, there
are larger rooms fixed up with table.
| etc, where they can hold consul tation'
All wood work is of solid oak and
trimmings in brass. No expense seems
to have been spared in furnishing tn 6
In substantial and at the same time
handsome manner.
But when we were shown the ladies'
general parlOr, our breath was fairly
taken away. The chairs were as finely
upholstered as they could be, and in an
alcove on the side was a wash stand
with salts, powder and everything a
lSdy could ask for in case she had good
| chance TO faint or wanted to refresh her
| toilet, and the neatest little maid in a
French cap to wait on them you ever
saw.
From here we went to the vaults be-
low, where valuable furniture or any,
thing OF value In bulk can be stored:
they charge So 90 a cubic foot for the
space. They have ten vaults and each
one is about l5x30 feet.
The temperature in these vaults is the
same all the year round; in winter kept
so by steam pipes and in summer by a
fan which Is at the top Of the building
and sends the air down fiue
TO the cellar. From here we
went to the upper floor again.